Out and About

Allie is a week and one day old today! She has been doing great! She sleeps about 90% of the time, and we've just been having so much fun with her! We've had a great week at home and have ventured out for a few outings the past two days. Yesterday we went to eat with my sister and nieces at Fresh Slices. It was so nice to get out of the house. It was a beautiful day outside, and we got to sit and eat by the fountain. As you can see, Allie slept through the whole outing. I'm not sure that she even realized she left the house!
Today we took Allie to her first wedding. Again, she slept through the entire outing, but we were happy to get out and get a chance to show her off! After the wedding, we went over to my parents for a little bit and finally picked up Chip, our chihuahua. So far, he hasn't seemed all that interested in Allie. I think he was just happy to be home after a long vacation at my parents.

Here are a few more pictures of our week at home.

As you can see, she's pretty pooped from all the activity!

Allie's first few days

We came home from the hospital yesterday, and it sure has been nice to be home! Allie is loving it as well! She decided she'd cry for us a little last night, which was just fine, because we were starting to wonder if she was capable of crying at all! All in all, we had a good first night. I'm a little sore, but overall getting around pretty good!
All the waiting was definitely worth it! Allie is so precious and is such a joy to both of us. Eric is crazy about her! I had to fight him to even get to hold her in the hospital! We are enjoying every day and thanking God for a precious baby girl!

She's here!!

Allie was born at 2:58pm, weighing 7 lbs. 14 oz, and 20 1/4 inches. We are so very blessed!

C-Section...

Well, apparently miss Allie isn't in any hurry to come... I've been on pitocin since 5:30 and haven't made even the tiniest bit of progress... so they're gonna just go ahead and slice me open within the hour! Our sweet girl will be here soon!!!

Just Hanging Out...

Well there is not much to report here. We arrived around 4:30 am to check in. I have made absolutely no progress since then. I am still 2cm dialated and 80% effaced. The doctor is giving me until 1:30pm to make progress. The odds of a c-section at 2pm are looking pretty good.

3 1/2 Miles...

Is a long distance to walk when it's 82 degrees outside and you're 9 months pregnant.

I was so inspired by the beautiful day that I drove to my favorite place to go walking - the trail around Patriot Lake at Shelby Farms. I was armed with my fully charged mp3 player and ready to go. I enjoyed the first circle so much, I thought, hey, why not go around again. I'll admit that about halfway around the second time I started to regret the decision. All in all, though, I was quite proud of my accomplishment. I'm not sure how long it took me to walk this distance, but I was outside long enough to get sunburned, so I think I was there for a while.

If that's not enough to bring on labor, then I'm convinced that nothing short of an iv full of pitocin will do the trick! The induction is scheduled for 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning! I'm going to try and update the blog from the hospital, so be sure to check back on Friday!

Bittersweet...

Well, today was my last day at work. I am officially now a stay at home mom. For the past 4 years I've worked at Trustmark Bank. I have loved my job in Human Resources and loved all of the people I worked with. Even though the past 9 months have been very trying at times - between being so exhausted that I thought I may fall asleep right there at my desk, to having to wear pantyhose while being huge and pregnant (if you haven't experienced this, trust me, you do not want to!), to sitting in the floor of the bathroom throwing up and then having to go back to my desk and act like everything was great - I am sad to say a final goodbye. I am also very excited that I will be able to stay at home with our precious little girl!

Now, I have three full days of leisure and relaxation before being induced at 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning! What will I do with the extra time? I'm sure I'll figure something out!

I told you so...

I would just like to congratulate myself on the accurate prediction of the American Idol finale! I screamed (out loud) when Kris made it through. I'll admit that I was a little nervous for him. I am excited about next week's show. I think that Kris has a real chance of winning it all, because I feel that he will get all of Danny's votes. Surely Danny's fans wouldn't vote for Adam, would they?

How Will It Feel...

To wake up and not feel like throwing up? I wouldn't know. I cannot remember far enough back where I did not feel this way.

To not feel humongous ALL the time?

To be able to sleep on my stomach again?

To not be completely exhausted all the time (even AFTER getting 12 + hours of sleep the night before)?

I really cannot quite imagine how it will feel - but I do look forward to it with great anticipation! I also firmly believe that compared to these things, having some sleepless nights after her arrival will seem like a piece of cake! I may be wrong - I'll let you know.

No News...

Well, here we are at 38 weeks! I went to the doctor yesterday, and unfortunately was left with no real news to speak of... I was frustrated.

Everyone has been saying that I should have a bag packed and be ready to go, just in case.. well last weekend I did just that. I packed my bag, Allie's bag, charged the cameras, etc. Every day this week when I've left work, I've tried to leave with everything neatly wrapped up, just in case that could be my last day. I have found that to be exhausting and frustrating. How do you stay ready to go at any moment, but stay patient at the same time? I don't have the answer to this. I am a planner. It is at times like these when I think you just have to throw those instincts out the window. I've decided to just mentally prepare for her arrival to come on May 22nd. The doctor said yesterday that she doesn't think she will come on her own before then, so we've scheduled the induction.

Two weeks.

I guess that's not so bad in the grand scheme of things.

The good news is that she put me on "half duty" at work starting Monday. I think this will help! And it is exciting to know that at the very most, we will just have to wait two more weeks to meet our little one!

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My Little Allie-Gator

Well, most people that know me know that I am an avid Florida Gators fan! College football season is just about my favorite time of the year. There's just nothing like it! College football is my favorite sport to watch, because it is the only sport where, literally, every game matters. There is just something so exciting about it!

The first item of clothing bought for little Allie was a Florida Gators onesie (which my mother-in-law bought). At that time, we didn't know whether she would be a girl or a boy, but I knew that either way, they'd grow to be a Gator fan! I am afraid that the onesie by itself does look a bit manly. Once we found out that Allie was a girl, I began a search for a blue or orange skirt. Well, let me tell you that this is harder to come across than one would think! Really they only sell white, pink, and green!

Last weekend at Arlington in April, I came across the most amazing find! A woman had a booth set up selling tutu's. I went to look and hanging there, just for me, was a beautiful Gator orange and blue tutu! What are the odds?! I couldn't imagine that anyone else in the state of TN would love such a things as I would, so I knew I had to buy it (for a mere $10, I might add!) The woman herself was a Vols fan, but decided to make this tutu just in case an avid Gator fan, like myself came along. This made my day! Here is Allie's game day gear. Oh, I can't even wait!


My sister gave me this adorable outfit. Allie will get to wear this all summer in anticipation of football season!

I should probably mention that my poor husband is a Vols fan (during football season)... I let him know that while I simply couldn't bear to see her dressed in those colors, that I would be sure to let her wear some Memphis attire during basketball (where his loyalty lies the other half of the year). I think he was okay with this.

I'm Happy Because...

Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God... in which you shine like stars in the universe!

This verse has always hit home to me, because far too often, I find many more things to complain about than to be thankful for! The terrible thing is that this is not because I am lacking in things to be thankful for - in fact the list goes on and on. It is just simply my nature (and maybe human nature in general) to automatically point out the things that get you down in life. I think God has been bringing this verse once again to my mind in this last stage of pregnancy, because - really, I would have no trouble at all spilling out a list of the unpleasant things at this particular stage of pregnancy.

When I was thinking about these things this morning, I remembered a "game" that we used to "play" sometimes in high school. I was very fond of the game, but I am not really sure that anyone else (except maybe Steph!) was really a fan. It sort of went like this: we'd be on a trip in a broken down bus with no air conditioning, at school with WAY too much to get done, or just overloaded with little annoyances of life. Everyone would be talking about just how bad things were, so one of us would say, "I'm happy because..." and we would all come up with things that there were to be happy about despite our circumstances. Now, I look back on this game with great fondness, but I am afraid that some others may have just found it annoying! Whatever the case, I decided that this morning, I would "play" a little game of "I'm happy because...", since I really do have so many things to be thankful for today! So, here goes:

Today, I'm Happy Because:

• Despite what has seemed like an eternally long pregnancy, I am now at 37 weeks! If all goes as planned, then we will meet Allie no later than May 22!
• God has kept little Allie safe and healthy so far. My doctor kept reminding me that all the sickness was really a great sign that Allie was thriving. I tried to remind myself of this from time to time while I was hunched over the toilet throwing up. Sometimes I did manage to thank God for her extreme healthiness while I was puking my guts out - sometimes I did not! But seriously, how blessed we've been that she has been healthy! I do not want to take that for granted.
• God has chosen to bless us with a little girl. And, for all you out there who are tempted to chime in: well, you really don't know what it is until it comes..., please refrain. We've had 3 ultrasounds (at 18.5, 24, and 37 weeks) all confirming without any doubt that she is indeed a girl! I know that I would love whatever God gave us, but there was something in my heart that just yearned for a little girl. God has truly blessed us beyond measure!
• Today is my birthday! To me, birthday's are a big deal! Our family has always made it that way. I just love having a day that's all mine! I realize that sounds very egocentric, but I guess it is what it is. My friend Karlye and I have the same birthday. We used to always dress alike on our birthdays. I miss those days... It started in 7th grade (when dressing alike actually could have been considered cool), but we just kept up the traditional all the way until 12th grade (which was not so cool - but very fun all the same)! Happy Birthday, Karlye!! I hope you have a terrific day as well!
• Along with the birthday celebration comes all sorts of fun things such as lunch with mom and dad, dinner at Bonefish with Eric tonight, going to see Wolverine, getting a massage in the morning (which, who knows, could just send me into labor!!!), lunch with friends tomorrow, and lunch with the in-laws on Sunday! I love it when birthday's last the whole weekend!
• Last, but not least, is that I am so happy and blessed to have such a wonderful, godly husband! Eric is my greatest encourager and my best friend. We have been married for three wonderful years - and they have been the greatest of my life! I love you, sweets! Thanks for all you do for me.

So next time you're feeling a little down-in-the-dumps or are discouraged, maybe you'll feel like playing a little round of "I'm Happy Because". I think you'll find that there really are so many things to be thankful for - you won't have to look very hard!